# C&D Billy Bud Review



## Aquinas (Mar 30, 2010)

*Tin Description:* 
A heavy Latakia blend with rough-cut burly and bright Virginia flake and a good amount of rough-cut Connecticut and Wisconsin maduro cigar leaf.

*History: *
This blend was created for a very prolific member of the pipe smoking community, Sailorman Jack. From what I read Jack was a loved member on alt.smokers.pipes where his "Morning Watch Posts" were eagerly awaited by all each day. He was since passed but is still greatly appreciated in the online pipe community. A true BOTL. The actual name Billy Budd is from a short story about a sailor written in 1886.

*Popping the Tin:* 
This tobacco seemed very dry from the beginning. I still think that it benefits from about 15 min of drying. It has a very thick ribbon cut appearance with fairly large chunks of cigar leaf in it. It smells very strong in the latakia department. There are hints of the cigar leaf also but I do not smell the Virginia. The tin aroma is a chemically burnt tire smell. Don't let that turn you of because it does not taste that way.










*Packing: *
Packs very easily and seems very light.

*First Light and beginning of bowl: *
Lights very easily. Very strong latakia and harsh cigar flavor. It takes a couple of minute for it to mellow out. At first it was not very enjoyable. It does start to mellow out but is still dominated by the cigar leaf.

*Middle of bowl:*
The latakia really starts to take over. It is a pleasant latakia flavor that is smooth with a little bit of the cigar leaf still in the background. There is still not a whole lot of the Virginia shining through.

*End of Bowl:* 
The latakia and Virginia start to mesh and push the cigar leaf even farther into the back ground. This is when I really start to enjoy this smoke. It becomes a smoother more well rounded smoke. It still is not very smooth on my nostrils if I snork the smoke.

*Wife/Girlfriend/Significant other factor (Room Note):* 
Not one to impress your non pipe smoker friends and family with. This is an outside smoke. Have been told it smells like burnt rubber.

*My thoughts:*
This is a very nice smoke if you are looking for something more cigarish or a latakia bomb. I would defiantly recommend this for someone who is coming over to pipes from cigars. Overall I would give this tobacco a 4 out of 5 stars. The reason being I wish all of the tobaccos meshed together earlier. At the end of the bowl this is a 5 star smoke.


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## commonsenseman (Apr 18, 2008)

Sounds horrible, LOL!

Thanks for the review Tom!


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## Jack Straw (Nov 20, 2008)

Great review Tom. I still have not tried a cigar leaf blend but I don't think this is the one to start with! :lol:

Sounds like one that might benefit from a few years in the cellar?


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## owaindav (Mar 7, 2010)

See, now I want to try it.


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## SmoknTaz (Jun 18, 2008)

"Burnt rubber." Glad it doesn't taste like the smell, then again a lot of blends don't which is a good thing! Lol 

Thanks for the review Tom.


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## Aquinas (Mar 30, 2010)

Yeah Luckily it tastes better than it smells! The tin note is not very appealing.


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## FLIPFLOPS_AND_SHADES (Nov 25, 2010)

This was my first venture outside of mainstream aromatics. I have only smoked it once and didn't get to finish the bowl because my family became quite upset at the odor. When the weather warms a little more, I will definitely try another bowl because I think I actually liked it.:spy:


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## CaptainEnormous (Sep 30, 2010)

Original review is a great synopsis. All I have to add is that this is worth a try for most pipe smokers. This is a hearty English with cigar leaf serving as an interesting counterpoint to the Cyprian Latakia. It's not an every day smoke for me. But I'm glad I have a few ounces stashed away.


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## Cadillac (Feb 28, 2007)

Bump on this. I've smoked about 3 bowls of this stuff, and really enjoy it. I don't know if the cigar leaf in it helps, but don't find it as strong in the Latakia dept. as some of the other "english" blends I've tried. Might spring for a 1/2 Lbs.


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## mbearer (Jun 2, 2010)

Got in some Billy Bud last week and I have been impressed by it. This review does a good job summing it up but figured I would throw in my $.02 and give it a bump. 

When I first started smoking a pipe I saw Billy Bud up on the C&D site and went who the heck would do that? Smoke a cigar if you want a cigar... Then I started testing out the cigar mix baccy's with Purple Cow and Robusto... They where OK and got me intrigued more by Billy Bud. 

This is a great baccy for a Latakia lover, but I also think it is a good gateway drug for Latakia too. It is full of the Latakia taste but to me it is subdued not as sharp as normal. It is full rich and creamy... and just a big hit with me. I have had at least a bowl a day of it since I got it and even done it back to back a couple times (which is almost unheard of for me) 

It is NOT wife approved. As soon as I took it out of the shipping box she smelled the bag from 5' away and said NO WAY when I am around LOL but I would highly recommend giving this blend a test drive.
Mike


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## JeffinChi (Mar 23, 2011)

mbearer said:


> It is full of the Latakia taste but to me it is subdued not as sharp as normal.


+1

I enjoy full strength and flavor blends including those with heavy servings of latakia. However, even though there is a good amount of it, it seems a bit smoother then normal. Perhaps the cigar leaf?

coming from cigars to pipes, I don't really taste too much cigar leaf at all. This is more of a latakia blend than a cigar blend. The cigar is added to increase some intrigue in a world of hevy latakia blends. Just my:2


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## ChrisD (Apr 10, 2011)

Thanks for the honest review, this has been on my list for quite awhile.


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## Zogg (Aug 31, 2010)

I know some people who love this, and i actually got some. I'm gonna go try it now actually!

I love C&D Purple Cow, which is a cigar leaf mix.. We'll see how it goes!


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